V shaped louver construction



Aug; 19, 1953 j cfH.

- INVENTOR. Charles Herb em Warwjc'lr I i Fig. l. wing.

2,847,173 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 V SHAPED LOUVER C(DNSTRUCTIGN Charles Herbert Warwick, Portland, Greg, assignor to Nicolai Door Manufacturing Co., Portiaud, Greg, a corporation of Oregon Application February 18, 1955, Serial No. 489,014 Claims. (Cl. --63=) This invention relates to chevron or V shaped louvers for windows, doors, or the like and, more particularly, to an improved louver construction which can be assembled rapidly within a jig thereby reducing both material and labor costs.

One object of my invention is to provide a louver con struction for doors or windows in which tongue and groove means are utilized to join the ends of the louvers to the vertical stiles or frame members thereby providing a more rigid and a stronger construction.

Louver doors and windows which block visual observation yet allow ventilation are an old art. During the 19th century, they were widely used and were considered architecturally correct. In fact, louvers employed in home construction were looked upon as a sign of wealth or luxury since a louver type closure was more costly than a panel or glass closure. As architectural taste and design changed during the early part of the 26th century, fewer and fewer louver doors and windows were utilized for purely decorative functions, the market for these items thus becoming restricted to utilitarian items. Recently, however, the interest in louver doors, windows, and paneis has been revived and many architects today are employing these structures both for utilitarian and for decorative or ornamental purposes. To cite but one example, it now is an accepted practice in so called modern architecture to employ louver panels, doors or windows in party rooms, dens and kitchens and as decorative bor dering about fireplaces and windows. i have watched this expanding activity in the louver market with interest as a person engaged in the manufacture of doors and the like. At the same time, it is my considered opinion that the expense involved in constructing the conventional or old time louver door or window has not allowed a development of the full potential of the market. It thus is a primary object of my invention to oviic a louver construction which is less expensive both in labor and in material costs whereby manufacturing directed to the provision of louver type closures can increase the market to the economic and esthetic bctterment of the manufacturers, dealers, architects, and home owners.

To fully appreciate the advantages of my invention, it first will be necessary to have an adequate understanding of the basic louver art. To this end, it will be understood that louvers can be formed from any of a variety of materials including wood, metal, plastics, and the like. At the same time, louvers can be formed in any of literally hundreds of designs or configurations, common examples being with flat straight individual louvers, with U or semicircular louvers, and with V or chevron shaped louvers. A common attribute of substantially all of these louver designs fabricated with substantially any of these materials is that the individual louvers are spaced equidistant one from the other by employing spacers of one type or another. Thus, in fabricating a louver panel, the individual louvers are laid up one at a time either with 61.: spacers intermediate the adjacent louvers or with projecting dowels fitted to equispaced complementary recesses. In surveying this ancient art and in experimenting with various types of louver construction, I have found that both the dowel type and the spacer type construction possess certain inherent disadvantages both in structural strength and in cost, it being one object of the instant invention to eliminate these disadvantages.

To the above end, my louver panel is adapted to fit within an exemplary open door or window panel bounded by horizontal top and bottom rails and by vertical side stiles. The louvers themselves are a chevron or V type since these are the most eflicient obstruction to sight, are stronger, and find a more ready acceptance among architects and home owners. As a primary feature of my construction, the ends of each of the louvers and the inner margins of the stiles carry mated tongue and groove means of complementary profile for securing the louver construction to the stiles. The tongue and groove construction itself includes an elongated vertical groove which is formed in each stile and an elongated vertical tongue which interconnects the individual louvers and is fitted to the groove in the stile to resist displacement of the louvers relative to the stiles. The tongue itself is formed and it is one object of my invention to form the tongue as a narrow plywood spline which is fitted and secured with glue within vertically aligned series of identical grooves formed in the ends of the louvers. Thus, I eliminate the need for dowels or spacers to secure an equal spacing yet, at the same time, provide a structure of increased strength and one which can be assembled in a jig with minimal effort in a short time.

As another feature of my invention, the top end of each spline or tongue extends above the top louver a distance equal to the spacing between individual louvers. In cooperation therewith, the lower margin of the top rail .is of a chevron or V configuration complementary to the louvers themselves thereby defining an additional louver opening intermediate the top louver and the top rail. The provision of this structure is a further object of my invention.

Yet another portion of my construction includes the provision of a protruding horizontal key upon the upper margin of the bottom rail of the door. This key delines a support for the lowermost louver and, by virture of sloping side margins arranged at the same inclination to the horizontal as the arms of the individual louvers, also defines a false louver opening intermediate the lowermost louver and the bottom rail. The provision of this structure is yet another ebjectof the instant invention.

The above and other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent during a consideration of the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. l is a foreshortened side view of either an exemplary door or a window closure having a louver construction in accord with the instant invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section detail which also is foreshortened, taken substantially on the line *2 of Fig. 1, showing the chevron or V shape of the individual louvers and the manner in which the lowermost louver rests upon the protruding key in the bottom rail;

Fig. 3 is a cross section detail view, taken substantially on the line 33 ofFig. 2, showing the joinder of the vertical tongue or spline with both the louver and the groove in a vertical stile;

Fig. 4 is a foreshortened perspective of the louver construction in place at one end upon a stile and with the stile removed at the near end better to reveal the details of the tongue or spline;

Fig. 5 is a foreshortened perspective detail of two louvers per se, this figure indicating the appearance of the louvers prior to assembly.

The structure illustrated in Fig. l is intended to represent'a wood door, window, or any comparable closure or panel incorporating a louver construction. Since the largest market for such louver constructions currently is in the door art, however, I prefer to term the horizontal members rails and the vertical members stiles as in the door art. These terms, however, should not be restrictive of the scope of the invention since those skilled in the art will recognize a variety of equivalent uses for the louver construction.

The exemplary door consists of a top rail 6, a bottom rail 7, and two vertical side stiles 8 and 9. These rails and stiles define a frame which bounds at least one and sometimes several adjacent or spaced open panels. It is the utilitarian function of the louver construction to fit within the open panel in order to block visual observation yet to allow ventilation through the door. In other instances, the louvers may be purely decorative.

Each of the individual louvers 10 is a thick V or chevron shape in cross section as shown in Fig. 2. In addition, each is symmetrical about a vertical plane passed through the longitudinal center line thereof and each terminates at the ends in tongue and groove means for fitting the construction to a door or window frame as now will be described. In detail, the tongue and groove structure includes a central louver groove 11 of rectangular cross section recessed, coped, or rabbeted endwise into the louver. In assembling the louvers, these grooves 11 are arranged in vertical alignment one above the other whereupon a single narrow vertical strip of plywood 12 is fitted within the aligned grooves to define a spline member. As best shown in Fig. 3, I prefer to employ glue to hold the plywood spline or tongue in the grooves 11. The glue itself is indicated at 13 and is somewhat exaggerated so as to illustrate this point. In function, it will be appreciated that the use of a plywood spline is preferred because of the superior structural strength thereof in comparison with other materials or solid pieces of wood which could be substituted. Thus, one important function of the spline 12 is to resist lateral pressure or shear forces generated, for example, when the louver construction is pushed. The laminar or ply construction of a plywood spline is of particular utility in resisting these shear forces. In total, the plywood spline is hidden from view yet it provides a structurally superior louver construction at minimal cost.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the plywood spline member 12 is arranged with the plane of the plies parallel the vertical center line plane of the louvers and with a portion of the spline protruding endwise. I prefer to construct this spline or tongue 12 such that the vertical protrusion beyond the grooves 11 is for a distance substantially equal to the depth of the groove. Thus, approximately one half of the total cross sectional length of the spline or tongue 12 lies within a groove and the other half lies without the groove for use in conjunction with a stile as hereinafter will be explained. As a further feature of the tongue and groove structure, a pair of tongues 14 protrude equal distances endwise from adjacent the sides of each terminal end of each louver. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, the inner margin 15 of each such tongue is arranged at an acute oblique angle to a vertical plane through the center line of the louver. Transferring now to Fig. 4, this oblique inner margin 15 cooperates with the spline or tongue 12 to bound a recess 16. This recess also fits and seats upon a complementary profile portion of the stiles 8 and 9 as hereinafter will be described.

Intermediate the front and back faces on the inner margin of each stile 8 and 9, I form an elongated vertical groove 17 as shown in Fig. 3. This groove 17 also is 4 of rectangular cross section and is centrally located so as to allow the spline or tongue 12 to seat therein as shown in Fig. 3. Where desired, of course, the end margins of the spline 12 may be trimmed or rounded so as to accommodate insertion within the groove 17. Except for the space intermediate the end of the spline 12 and the base of the groove 17, the remaining inner profile of each stile 8 and 9 is complementary to the previously described tongue and recess profile of the louvers 10. In sum total, this provides a construction in which the exposed marginal faces of all of the tongues, recesses, grooves, and splines lie within vertical planes providing a fit across multiple surfaces further to resist shear forces and displacement of the louvers once they are assembled to the door panel.

.leferring now to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the top terminal end of each spline or tongue 12 extends above the top louver It) a distance which is equal to the spacing between individual louvers. In'this manner and in cooperation with the V-like profile of the lower margin of the top rail 6 there is defined an open space intermediate the top louver and the top rail which conforms in configuration to the spacing between individual louvers. This provides an additional ventilation opening at minimal cost.

In a somewhat different configuration, the upper margin of the bottom rail 7 is formed with a protruding horizontal key 18. This key is rectangular in cross section and it terminates with sloping side margins 19. These side margins 19 are arranged at the same inclination to the horizontal as the arms of the chevron louvers so as to define a false louver opening intermediate the lowermost louver and the bottom rail 7. This provision, of course, results from the support of the lowermost louver upon the protruding key 18 in the manner shown in Fig. 2. Where desired, the spline or tongue 12 also may terminate at the correct point so as to rest upon the top of the key 18. This also adds to the structual strength of the assembled louver construction.

In assembling an exemplary louver door with the above described elements, the louvers themselves initially will have the appearance shown in Fig. 5. To eliminatethe need for spacers, I prefer to employ a jig which allows the louvers to be built up or stacked vertically one by one at the proper spacing. Finally, with the required number of louvers properly spaced, the vertical strips of plywood 12 are inserted in the grooves 11 and held in place with glue. The entire louver construction then is fitted to the open panel intermediate the stiles and upon the lower rail with the spline 12 positioned in the groove 17 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Here again glue may be employed to secure the various parts together where these parts are formed of wood.

In use, a door, a window, or the like having my novel louver construction incorporated therein is both ornamental and strong. The tongue and groove elements which interconnect the louvers and stiles provide a rigid and an integral or unitary construction superior to that provided either by dowels or spacers. In addition, by eliminating the use of dowels or spacers I have reduced the material cost and by providing a construction which can be assembled in a jig I have reduced the labor cost. These allow the sale of the louver door or window at a competitive price thereby providing an expanded mar ket in satisfaction of the increasing acceptance of louver construction in modern architecture.

I claim:

1. In a door having horizontal top and bottom rails and vertical side stiles defining a frame bounding at least one opening, a horizontal louver construction formed of equispaced parallel chevron type slats fitted and secured within said opening to block visual observation yet to allow ventilation, both ends of each of said slats and the inner margins of both of said stiles carrying mated tongue and groove means of complementary profile for securing the louver construction to the stiles, which complementary profile includes an elongated vertical groove of rectangular cross section formed intermediate the front and back faces on the inner margin of a stile and an elongated vertical tongue interconnecting the individual slats and protruding therefrom with a tapered end fitted within said groove to resist lateral displacement of the louver construction relative to the stile, each said tongue being formed as a narrow plywood spline fitted and secured with glue within a vertically aligned series of identical grooves formed in the ends of said slats, the top terminal end of each of said splines extending above the uppermost slat a distance equal to the spacing between individual slats, and a protruding horizontal key means formed upon the upper margin of said bottom rail to define a support for the lowermost of said slats, said keybeing rectangular in cross section and terminating with sloping side margins arranged at the same incline to the horizontal as the arms of said chevron-type slats to define a false louver opening intermediate the lowermost slats and the bottom rail.

2. A louver construction for doors or windows affording pre-assembly of the louvers, said construction including a stacked plurality of elongated parallel and equispaced horizontal lonvers each of which is a V shape in cross section, said louvers being symmetrical about a vertical plane through the longitudinal center line thereof and terminating at each end in tongue and groove means for fitting the construction to a door or window frame, said tongue and groove means being arranged in vertical alignment one above the other and each including a central groove recessed endwise into the louver, a single narrow vertical strip of plywood fitted and glued within the vertically aligned grooves at each end of said stacked louvers to define a spline member, said plywood spline member strip being arranged with the plane of the plies parallel said vertical center line plane and protruding endwise beyond said vertically aligned grooves a distance substantially equal to the depth of said groove, said tongue and groove means further including a pair of tongues protruding equal distances endwise from adjacent the sides of each louver terminal end, the inner margin of each said tongue being arranged at an acute oblique angle to a vertical plane through the center line of the louver and bounding a recess cooperatively with the protruding side face of said spline member strip, the exposed marginal faces of said tongues, recesses, grooves and splines all lying within vertical planes in the assembled louver construction so as to mate with and fit against a complementary vertical profile on a door or window frame.

3. The combination with a structural frame composed of stiles and rails bounding an opening, of a louver element spanning said opening, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack.

4. The combination with a stmctural frame composed of stiles and rails bounding an opening, of a louver element spanning said opening, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said slat ends each being bifurcated defining two spaced tongues separated by a V-shaped notch, said splines lying at the median line of said slat ends and projecting into said notch, thereby defining a stack edge of W-shaped contour, the opposed edges of said stiles having a complementary conformation thereby to mate with said stack of slat ends.

5. The combination with a structural frame composed of stiles and rails bounding an opening, of a louver element spanning said opening, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said splines being of laminated material with the laminae extending parallel with said median line.

6. The combination with a structural frame composed of stiles and rails bounding an opening, of a louver element spanning said opening, comprising a. stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said splines being of laminated plywood with the plies extending parallel with said median line.

7. The combination with a structural frame composed of stiles and rails bounding an opening, of a louver element spanning said opening, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, the ends of said splines extending beyond the top and bottom of said stack and bearing upon the opposed edge of said rails.

8. A louver element, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said slat ends each being bifurcated defining two spaced tongues separated by a V-shaped notch, said splines lying at the median line of said slat ends and projecting into said notch, thereby defining a. stack edge of W-shaped contour, the ends of said splines extending beyond the top and bottom of said stack.

9. A louver element, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said splines being of laminated plywood with the plies extending parallel with said median line, the ends of said splines extending beyond the top and bottom of said stack.

10. A louver element, comprising a stack of parallel chevron-type slats spaced apart at uniform intervals lying in a plane in superimposed relation and joined together by two end splines, one spline being partially embedded and secured edgewise in each end of all of the slats in a stack, said slat ends each being bifurcated defining two spaced tongues separated by a V-shaped notch, said splines lying at the median line of said slat ends and projecting into said notch, said splines being of laminated plywood with the plies extending parallel with said median line, thereby defining a stack edge of W-shaped contour, the ends of said splines extending beyond the top and bottom of said stack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,029,814 Manning June 18, 1912 1,108,613 Parker Aug. 25, 1914 1,695,553 Jones et al. Dec. 18, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 192,789 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1937 844,826 France May 1, 1939 

